The Ties of Family
by Lariren-Shadow
Summary: She hates it here. She's not like the others, she's more; she's a princess.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: July 13th was declared Azula appreciation day. Here's a little fic for it. Shipping weeks start Sunday and then I'm doing one of the Disney crossovers (Brave) so there's a lot of writing to be done.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

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She hates it here. She's not like the others, she's more; she's a princess, she's the rightful Fire Lord-

She stops her thoughts. No, she reminds herself, Zuko is Fire Lord. He visits her and tells her about what is going on in the world, he tells her all about his days, he tells her mundane and extraordinary things.

He's the only one that visits her. He always brings tea.

He tells her about Mai and how he thinks she prefers living in the Capitol and how she's adjusting to being the Fire Lord's girlfriend. She, Azula, thinks this is all silly. Mai complained enough about how her mother groomed her to marry a prince (the heir was the goal and Zuko falling into that position was a bonus).

She wonders about Ty Lee, what Zuko knows is sparse and she's begun almost a hundred letters to her and reduced them all to ash.

She tells the doctors this and they encourage her to keep trying. They encourage her to do everything except bend. That's when she's most free. They let her bend, they have to (Zuko asked for it), but it's monitored. She misses being in control.

She still has secrets, she still plans. She plans to tell them about her mother soon to show them she's made progress. She's even stopped seeing her mother in the mirror.

She hides her letters to her mother under her mattress. She's still not sure why she writes them or why she cries when she does.

* * *

She's watched Zuko change. She can tell his more alert, more on edge, waiting to strike. She counts each of his twitches when he visits. Last time the number was 84. She wonders if he'll exceed that today.

He knocks (out of habit, she assumes) and opens the door before she can answer. He balances the tray with their tea on it with ease that reminds her that he lived as a peasant and served others.

He has a horrible dark circle under his good eye and his jaw looks like it hasn't unclenched in days. A part of her purrs with the satisfaction that he's cracked under the pressure. A different part tells her she did the same.

He sets the tray down on the small table in the corner and gestures for her to join him. Usually he speaks but she's waiting him out.

He twitches. One.

She sits across from him as he places a cup in front of her. He's worn his flame today, usually he doesn't.

He flexes his fingers before picking up his cup. Two.

He cradles the cup in his palm. "Mai left," he tells her flatly. She watches his shoulders slump at the admission and quickly right themselves into perfect posture. Three.

"She's mad at me and won't listen. I miss her," he watches her. She knows he's waiting for her answer but she has none. His fingers begin to tap his cup. Four.

"She left because I didn't tell her I talk to Dad." She focuses her attention on him; back suddenly straight and eyes sharp. He looks around the room. Five. "I ask him about being Fire Lord."

"You're a fool," she tells him.

"You can speak," he retorts.

"I haven't had anything important to say," he flinches. Six.

"Then say it."

"You know more about the world than he does. You know how the Fire Nation is viewed around the world; you have the unique advantage of having met almost all the other leaders in person. You know what it's like to be poor and genuinely want to help people. You want to make things better, not conquer," she takes a breath and notes that he's entirely focused on her. "He knows how to control and withhold and cares nothing of what happens to his people, only that they increase in number. He manipulates, just as he's doing now with you. You should be above this, but you always were dense."

"There's the sister I missed."

"Don't miss her. I'm just like him," she says softly. She looks away and plays with her hair. Now she's the one fidgeting.

"You're not like him, not fully." She can't answer. She is completely like him and it scares her. "Ty Lee wants to visit," he tells her.

She hates that she can feel the sting of tears in her eyes. "She's here?"

"The Kyoshi Warriors have become my personal guards. She's worried about you."

"Can you tell her I try to write to her?"

"Of course." He sets his teacup on the table. "Dad wouldn't ask that." She's sure of it, what advantage does friendship have, especially with someone who betrayed you? But she cares and it hurts and she wants her friend back.

They sit in silence for a while, each sipping their tea. "Why do you keep visiting me?" She finally asks.

"Because you're my little sister and when we were really little you wouldn't go to bed until I'd told you good night." She remembers this and remembers how hard it was to break herself of the habit (Dad told her it was weak).

"Sometimes I miss how we were," she tells him softly. She's not lying, she's become a horrible liar recently.

"I've always missed it." He's telling the truth (he never outright lies) and she's not sure she's ever going to be able to be his little sister again.

"I'm trying."

"I know and I'm trying too." They're both relearning how to act around each other. "I have to go but I'll tell Ty Lee to visit. She can't stop talking about Kyoshi Island."

"I can't wait," she says truthfully.

"Good night Azula."

She feels herself smile, really smile, for the first time in awhile. "Goodbye Zuko."

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** In honor of Grey DeLisle being awesome enough to chat in tinychat I wrote more Azula.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

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Her stomach hurts and her palms are sweaty. She's never felt like this before and hates it. She's nervous, she realizes, and the thought sickens her more. She has no reason to be nervous, it's only Ty Lee.

Then why won't her stomach stop churning and she can't stop thinking about the last time she saw her?

Zuko promised to bring her on his next visit. He's been visiting more since Mai broke up with him. The last time he came she told him he must be lonely to visit so often. He brushed her off. She quipped that he should make Iroh come keep him company, he did such a good job of that for three years anyway. He told her Iroh deserved to lead his own life for awhile. She wonders when she'll be able to do the same.

Her doctors know Ty Lee is coming. They've been pressuring her to tell them how she feels. She never responds to them; she's not entirely sure herself. They nod and smile and offer to listen when she's ready to talk. She calculates how many years each of them should be imprisoned for their insolence. Ty Lee's crime should have been worth a life sentence.

She feels the sun rising. It's almost noon. She's made sure she looks polished. She's learned to manage her hair herself (she's not allowed scissors). She decides to sit and wait for them, they're having an audience with the fire princess after all.

She jumps slightly when the door opens (nerves she assumes). Zuko looks as grim as ever in his Fire Lord regalia but the hard look on Ty Lee's face isn't hidden by her pink clothing. She's used to her friend being happy no matter what (even her anger was enthusiastic). She has the sudden urge to hug her friend. She quickly squashes it, leaving a dull ache in her chest and her legs ready to spring up if they need to.

"Azula," Zuko nods as he takes his usual seat across from her. There's no tea yet but she's willing to bet there will be.

Ty Lee hesitates. "Hi," she whispers before gracefully sitting in-between Zuko and herself. Azula notes that her friend is closer to Zuko. At least she still has some sense of self preservation.

"Zuko told me you joined the Kyoshi warriors," she says bluntly. It's not what she wanted to say but she can't form the right words.

Ty Lee nods. "Yes, the girls and I are really getting along."

Weakness is what she exploits and she can't help herself from saying "how can you tell them apart, you all look alike." She almost regrets saying it. She never regrets words.

Ty Lee's eyes narrow and Azula sees a new spark in them. "I can tell by their fighting style. Each one of us has a specialty. We may look the same but it's to our advantage. We confuse opponents." Azula smiles. Ty Lee is thinking like her. "At the same time the uniform bonds us together." The words cut her. Ty Lee never felt bound to her. She feared her, Azula, but she never felt anything more. She's certain this is why she didn't know Ty Lee ran off to the circus and why she never received any letters from her (Mai, on the other hand, was forced to write her letters filled with non thoughts and vague inquires about Zuko).

She looks down, unable to look at her supposed friend. "I see," she mutters.

She watches Zuko look between the two of them. He nods at her, encouraging her to speak more. She remains silent. He rolls his eyes and stands and Ty Lee forgets the proper court etiquette of rising when the Fire Lord does. They've been friends too long for such foolishness. "I'm going to get us some tea," he tells them.

They're alone and Azula knows she's the one who has to speak first. She opens her mouth and tries but immediately closes it again. The truth has never been her ally but now she thinks it's the best course of action. "I've missed you." Her words are blunt.

Ty Lee's eyes soften. "I've missed you too."

"You don't write," she accuses and hates the catch in her throat.

"You'd burn the letters." Ty Lee's much more perceptive than she gave her credit for. "Don't lie to me and say you wouldn't."

"I'm told daily that lying is generally frowned upon. As is imprisoning friends." It's an attempt at an apology.

"Attacking them is also not accepted," Ty Lee offers with a weak smile.

"Ty Lee...I'm learning how to say this-"

"Don't apologize." Her words cut like Mai's knives. "I know you. You use words to manipulate but I know when you're being sincere. Right now you think this is what you're supposed to say," she smiled a genuine smile. "I can wait, you know. You've always made me feel like I'm special and I think you do care about me." Azula nods, she does care for Ty Lee and she hates that she still feels it's a weakness.

"You'll visit?" She asks softly.

"Of course, I'll even braid your hair if you like."

She feels herself smile without prompting. She sits up a little straighter and looks Ty Lee in the eye. "I've also been told I should write someone. I can't very well write Zuzu, he visits me almost everyday now."

Ty Lee smiles too. "I'd be happy to write to you Azula. I can tell you all about Kyoshi and the girls and the giant koi fish!"

She knows this Ty Lee and feels much more comfortable with her. Zuko walks in and she's sure he's been listening. He's never been one for subtlety around her; this is the first time she's grateful for his flaw.

She accepts the tea he offers and listens to her best friend and brother talk about nothing. Maybe, she thinks, this is what family is.

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: The first section of this was written months ago on tumblr. I tend to take drabble requests there over the weekend and someon asked for Azula and Iroh and I was already planning this so it happened. My tumblr is lariren-shadow if you're interested.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

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He's the last person she expected to ever visit her. She watches him as he drinks his tea (she's never shared the same affinity for the drink that Iroh taught Zuko). She has nothing to say to him; she doesn't regret any of her actions towards her distant uncle.

"Why are you even here?" she finally asks hating the slight hitch in her voice.

He carefully sets his cup down, one hand going to stroke his beard and the other falling into his lap. "I want to get to know my niece," he says calmly.

"You already know me," she responds acidly.

He looks her right in the eye. It unnerves her. "I know a brilliant military mind who is as ruthless as she is deadly. I know an amazing firebender who mastered a technique it took me years to learn. I know all this but I don't know Azula."

She looks away. "That's all I am."

She feels his hand, warm and large, on hers. It startles her; no one besides Ty Lee has ever tried to comfort her. "I think you're more." She's startled by the amount of conviction he has in that statement. "And I know how hard it is to wage war and how tired you must be sometimes. When you're ready I'll tell you about my siege of Ba Sing Se."

She jumps on his hesitation. "Why not now? Don't want to relive your failure?"

"No Azula. Right now I want to enjoy my tea and get to know my niece because this is the longest conversation we've ever had."

She hesitates. She tries to think of his motives for wanting to know her. Zuko already visits her, Uncle doesn't speak to Ty Lee or Mai, and she can't think of anyone else he would talk to about her.

She decides to give this a chance. At best she can manipulate him into teaching her new firebending forms. At the worse she can lie. She begins: "Ty Lee is my best friend and I locked her and Mai in prison."

* * *

He brings a different flavor of tea everyday. "I'm trying to guess your favorite," he tells her.

"Does that tell you anything about a person?" She inquires. She's sipping the white tea he's brought and finds it rather tasteless.

He watches her and she understands the look. He's gauging the enemy and she's not losing any ground. "Your brother likes jasmine even though he won't admit it. It's calming and helps him think. Your father liked oolong because of its smoky flavor. He drank it because he believes it came from dragons and gives him power. Personally I like ginseng."

She tries to remember what that tea is known for. Maybe she can find his weakness. It's on the tip of her tongue to ask him for a book on teas (she can find an appropriate one to like that shows her as soft and reformed) but doesn't. She doesn't want to give any ground.

Instead she asks Zuko for one the next time he visits. He stares at her with his mouth open and she wants to laugh because _this is the Fire Lord_.

He brings it to her the next day. She spends a day reading it and picking out which tea she should like. She picks the white peony tea because it sounds delicate enough even if she tends to dislike white teas.

She plans and schemes and always forgets to think of what is best for herself.

* * *

She tells her Uncle during his next visit that she likes white peony tea. His responding belly laugh annoys her.

"You know that is the tea I gave you the other day. The one you said was tasteless."

She's forced to retreat and regroup. "Right," she says smoothly, "I always told Ty Lee this was my favorite because it's the only one she likes."

He eyes her. She caught in a lie because she's told him she never thought of her friends before. She hopes (a new emotion) that he won't question her. "Well we'll find your favorite soon enough."

* * *

She purposely fills their next few days with idle remembrances. "Mai was the only girl at the Academy who knew more about Fire Nation history than I did." She's not lying when she tells him this. It was one of the first things that attracted her to the gloomy girl. If she couldn't best one of them she had to have her close. The fact that Mai's mother pushed her to be friends with the princess helped.

"And how did you befriend Ty Lee?" Her uncle asks in his most soothing voice. It's the voice she assumes he uses on wild animals.

She tries to remember. Ty Lee was just always there. "I," she pauses, "I can't remember." She wants to. She wants to have a certain reason for Ty Lee being her friend. Chi blocking came later. "She was just my friend." The realization humbles her. She never thought she had a real friend before. It makes her sick and light at the same time.

"You always need someone," Uncle affirms.

She's always assumed she's never needed anyone. Recent experiences have slightly changed her perspective.

* * *

The tea he brings today has flowers in it. "I'm not sure if you'll like this but you never know," Uncle says as he hands her a cup.

She blows on it before sipping. It tastes slightly woody and bitter but she loves it. "I usually like it with sugar," she utters without thinking.

"Really?"

She thinks about it. She's had this before and often. "Yes, I do." He hands her the bowl and she takes a spoon full of rock sugar for her cup. Always a spoon full, nothing more.

She remembers her mother making it for her. She very nearly drops the cup. "We drank it every summer at the beach house," she remembers softly. "And every time I had a sore throat Ur-Mo-Mother would make it for me."

"I'll bring it again tomorrow."

She almost protests but she wants it. She likes it. It's supposed to cool a person down and usually the preferred summer tea for firebenders. She needs it.

He teaches her how to make it the next day. He explains that the water added must be boiling and that she should always have a flower in her cup. He adds that she can make more than one pot from each portion: the tea will lose its bright yellow color with each pot.

When he's finished she thinks he'll go. "Make me a pot," he commands.

She hesitates. It's a test, obviously, but she's not sure of what. "Why?"

"We've finished the one I made."

She nods. It might be a test but she can't figure it out right now. She'll think about it after he leaves. She slowly gets up and picks up the pot to fill with water.

"The siege was only supposed to last a month at most," he begins. This is it; he's going to tell her the story.

"Why didn't it?" She asks even though she knows the answer. She's taking her time with the water, heating it slowly.

"I miscalculated." She flinches at the words. "You've met earthbenders and know how stubborn they can be." She nods. "I thought the wall would fall as quickly as every other strong hold. I assumed I was invincible."

She wants him to stop. She knows that feeling and knows what that power can do to a person. "But the wall stood," he continues and she can feel his eyes on her back. "We continued our assault. We had to weather snow, something a lot of my men had never seen. Lu Ten," she hears the hitch in his voice, "lead games among the men."

She turns around and walks back to the table. He's looking far away. She takes the flowers and adds them to the water. She heats it again as he stays lost. "Azulon backed me the entire time," he assures her. "But as the days wore on I wondered if it was worth it. I began to miss my family and home. I had my son but I grew tired. Breaking the wall, though, that gave me hope."

She pours him tea. She knows this all too well but hates to admit it. "Then came the unthinkable. My boy," his voice gets soft and she's sure he's fighting tears. She feels something that she can't name and it's beginning to hurt. "He didn't make it. I was broken and gave up."

"Why are you telling me this?" She asks softly. She feels like she's intruding. She should remember every word to use against him later but there's something in his voice that stops her. For the first time she's aware that it's her cousin he's talking about. She has vague memories of him and will never have more.

"Did you know Zuko never mentioned your mother? Not in all the time we were together."

She's surprised. "She loved him more. I can't believe he wouldn't look for her."

"What did you know about her? From what I understood she was banished but Ozai led Zuko to believe she was dead. Something about trying to raid him of his weakness. Zuko never mentioned a friend either."

Her brother never really had friends till the Avatar and his little crew but she doesn't say that. "You, however, spoke about both. That is why I told you about Ba Sing Se."

"I don't understand."

"You're more willing to talk about your world to me."

"But Zuko-"

"Zuko doesn't talk about things until he has to."

"He did with Mai."

Iroh chuckles. "That is very interesting. And who does he talk to now that she's gone?"

She thinks for a minute. "Me," she replies.

"Exactly. He rarely seeks me out for advice or even to talk to. You were forced to and yet you have been more forthcoming. We are alike in that way." She raises her eyebrow at him. "Whether Zuko knows it or not he is, in some ways, like Ozai. Neither wants to talk about their emotions save but to a few people. Neither seeks advice nor heads it unless they think they should. You, on the other hand, listen and give information when needed. You are much more like me in that way."

She flattered and confused. In many ways she wants to be like the man her uncle used to be. She is much more like him now. He can help her if she wants him to.

As she watches him drink her tea and smile at the taste she's finally ready to accept help. "How did you make it home?" She asks.

He smiles. "That is a story for another day but I'm glad you're curious."

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